Ultrasonic carburetion enchancer

ABSTRACT

An improved gasoline engine fuel vaporizer which is used in conjunction with a normal carburetor to further vaporize the fuel and provide increased engine efficiency and performance. The device is built into a gasket which normally is mounted between the carburetor and intake manifold, and uses the manifold vacuum to draw air through holes onto a jet-edge ultrasonic whistle. The ultrasonic sound provides the vaporizing action on the fuel.

- United States Patent [191 Jackson Dec. 31,- 1974 ULTRA-SONICCARBURETION ENCHANCER [76] Inventor: Walter G. Jackson, 9631 LawyersRd., Vienna, Va. 22180 [22] Filed: Apr. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 352,960

[52] US. Cl. l23/l4l,-48/l80 R [51] 1 Int. Cl. F02m 29/00 [58] Field ofSearch... 123/141, 119 D, 124, 119 E;

[56] References Cited v UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,730,160 5/1973 Hughes123/141 v OTHER PUBLICATIONS Journal of the Acoustical Society ofAmerica; Vol. 24,

No. 3; May 1952; Acoustical Characteristics of Jet-- Edge andJet-Edge-Resonator Systems."

Primary EimminerCharles J. Myhre Assistant Examiner-R. H. Lazarus IAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert A. OLeary 57 ABSTRACT An improvedgasoline engine fuel vaporizer which is used in conjunction with anormalcarburetor to further vaporize the fuel and provide increased engineefficiency and performance. The device is built into a gasket whichnormally is mounted between the carburetor and intake manifold, and usesthe manifold vacuum to draw air through holes onto a jet-edge ultrasonicwhistle. The ultrasonic sound provides the vaporizing action on thefuel.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures l ULTRASONIC CARBURETION ENCHANCER SUMMARYOF THEYINVENTION vaporized gasoline to vaporize them by the applicationof ultrasonic sound as follows:

One or more Jet-edge whistles is built into a carburetor mounting gasketsuch that the'physical size and dimensions of each produces ultrasonicsound in the kilohertz region. The partial vacuum which exists in theintake manifold-when the engine is running is used as a power source, oran external air pump can be used.

A Jet-edge whistle is created by forming a thin air stream and directingit upon a knife-edge. The air stream oscillates alternately aboveandbelow the blade edge at a frequency determined by (a) the air streamthickness and velocity and (b) the distance between the blade edge andthe orifice from which-the air stream v emerges.

If these dimensions are designed to produce sound in the ultrasonicregion, andthe sound is directed at a fuel-air mixture, itserves todisperse and further evaporate fuel in the mixture The location selectedfor operation of the device was between the carburetor mounting flangeand the intake manifold, where a thick gasket is usually located. Itcould, however, be built into a carburetor mounting bolt, carburetorbody or intake manifold with the same effect.

Other-objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing, forming apart hereof,in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in allthe views:

FIG. I is a plan view of the invention constructed so as to fit betweenthe carburetor mounting flange and a carburetor of a conventionalautomobile;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged sectional view taken on the section line A-A ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the construction of FIG. I inassembled relation with an automobile carburetor; I v

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a modified form of theinvention; and

FIG. 3A is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line A-A ofFIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT F IG., 1 is a plan view of thecarburetor mounting flange gasket which includes the Jet-edge Whistle.Diameter 1 describes the normal air-flowarea for a single barrelcarburetor which would be the same as the diameter of the ordinarygasket used on standard engines. In order to facilitate fabrication, twogaskets, 11 and 12, are cemented'together with knife edges 2 fixed inposition in between, so that they span air plenum 3. Screw 4 containingorifice 5 is so placed that the air jet through 5 is split by the keenedge of blade 2.

Since the area described by l is in a state of partial vacuum comparedwith the outside end of orifice 5, air is drawn through 5 causing anair-jet which is split by blade 2. The air-jet oscillates alternatelyabove and below the blade at a rate determined by the orifice diameter5, the volume of air passing through 5, the distance 6 from the orificeto the edge of the blade and the dimensions of resonating chamber 14.These values are so arranged that the frequency of oscillation is above15 kilohertz.

The ultrasonic sound from each Jet-edge Whistle impinges upon thefuel-air mixture passing through 1 and further vaporizes the gasolinethere.

' FIG. 2 is-an illustration of how the Jet-Edge device is mounted in anengine. In FIG. 2, 7 is the carburetor, 8 is the carburetor butterflyvalve, 9 is the carburetor throat, 10 is the carburetor mounting bolt,11 and 12 are the gaskets from which the device is made, 4 is the screwthrough which orifice 5 is drilled.

FIG. 3 shows another form of Jet-Edge Whistle which was successfullyoperated. In it the knifeedge 2 is served with an airstream from arectangular orifice 5 of dimension suitable to produce approximately 30kilohertz of ultrasonic sound.

FIG. 2 shows the ultrasonic device as it is mounted in place inbetweenthe carburetor and the intake manifold 13. The device could also bemadeby some arrangement or other to occupy chamber 9 or 13 or be builtinto mounting bolt 10.

Resonating chamber 14 is not necessary to the operation of the device,but provides additional sound amplitude and stabilizes the frequencyover a wider range of orifice air flow rates.

The construction of jet-edge-resonator systems and their acousticalcharacteristics are well known and are explained in the Journal of theAcoustical Society of America, Volume 24, No. 3, May, 1952 in an articleby W. L. Nyborg; M.D. Burkhard and H. K. Schilling in an articleentitled Acoustical Characteristics of Jet-Edge and Jet-Edge-ResonatorSystems.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the frequency ofoscillation is approximately 40 kilohertz. The dimension indicated bythe dimension line 6 in' FIG. 1A is 0.24 inch. The diameter of theorifice is 0.05 inch. The length of the orifice 5 is 0.625 inch. Thediameter of the resonator 14 is 0.032 inch. The depth of the resonator14 is approximately 0.073 inch.

The width of the blade 2 from front to back is 0.125

inch. The thickness of the blade 2 is 0.010 inch. The

angle of the blade edge is 13. The air plenum 3 is 0.375 by 0.675 inch.The main body of the device is constructed of two pieces of gasketmaterial, each having a thickness of approximately 0.125 inch, makingthe combined height of the parts 11 and 12 0.25 inch. The constructionshown in FIG. 1 is shaped to fit a 1965 Plymouth six cylinder engine. Itwill be understood that these figures for the preferred embodiment aregiven merely by way of illustration.

The preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed and the invention is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, in which fuel is mixed with airprior to induction into a combustion chamber, a carburetor in which thefuel and air are mixed, a passage through which the fuel-air are mixtureflows from the carburetor to the combustion chamber, a valve in saidpassage for regulating the rate of flow, an air operated ultrasonicsound generator mounted in a location downstream from the valve and inposition to impress an ultrasonic jet upon the fuelair mixture, for thepurpose of improved fuel vaporization, said generator having a chamberopening directly into the fuel-air mixture passage, an orifice of saidgenerator through which an air jet flows through a wall of said passageand into the generator chamber, and a blade in line with the air jet ata location where the air jet has unrestrained flow past said blade andinto the fuel-air mixture in the passage leading from the valve to thecombustion chamber, the air jet impingement with an edge of the bladesetting up an ultrasonic vibration of the jet where it merges with thefuel-air mixture in sgidpassage. M 2. The combination described in claim1 characterized by the orifice through which the air jet flows leadinginto a partial vacuum in the fuel-air passage from a region of higherpressure surrounding the outside of the structure from which thefuel-air passage extends, the air jet orifice and blade constitutingajet edge whistle, and the dimensions and air flow of the jet edgewhistle having a frequency in and above the kilohertz region.

3. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by a connectionat'which the carburetor passage is connected to the engine and joins apart of the engine through which the fuel-air mixture travels to theengine combustion chamber, two superimposed gaskets located between thecarburetor and said part of the engm, the gaskets forming a QQSFE,Qfilhiflltfifiifli generators, the jet opening extending through aside of the gaskets, and into a fuel-air passage through the gaskets,and the blade being clamped between the gaskets and in line with theorifice.

4. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the bladehaving its narrow width approximating the comparable width of the airjet, and one edge of the blade which faces the air jet being a knifeedge for generating ultrasonic sound.

5. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by a housing thatconnects withthe carburetor with a passage in the housing constituting acontinuation of the fuel-air passage of the carburetor downstream fromthe valve, detachable fastening means for connecting the housing withthe carburetor and a plurality of ultrasonic generators at angularlyspaced locations around the passage through said housing includingorifices opening through a wall of the housing for admitting air fromthe ambient atmosphere into the housing to form the air jets for thegenerators;

6. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the orificeleading through a wall of the passage communicating at its upstreamendwith the ambient atmosphere, and the orifice at its downstream end beingsubject to the partial vacuum in the passage leading from the carburetorto the combustion chamber of the engine whereby the flow of the air jetdepends upon the difference in pressure between the pressure in saidfuel-air passage and the pressure of the ambient atmosphere.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo.3,857,375 4 Dated Dec. 31, 1974 In entor(s) Walter G'- Jao1son It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the title at the top of the front page and in column 1 line 1, thatportion of the title reading "ENCHANCER" should read ENHANCER Signed andSealed this Twenty-seventh D ay Of J My 1976 [SE AL] A tt'est:

RUTH C. MASON C MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner vfParentsand Trademarks

1. In an internal combustion engine, in which fuel is mixed with airprior to induction into a combustion chamber, a carburetor in which thefuel and air are mixed, a passage through which the fuel-air mixtureflows from the carburetor to the combustion chamber, a valve in saidpassage for regulating the rate of flow, an air operated ultrasonicsound generator mounted in a location downstream from the valve and inposition to impress an ultrasonic jet upon the fuel-air mixture, for thepurpose of improved fuel vaporization, said generator comprising arecess located in the wall of the fuel-air mixture passage and opeNingdirectly into the fuel-air mixture passage, an orifice of said generatorthrough which a thin air jet flows through a wall of said passage andinto the recess, and a blade spaced from the orifice and in line withthe air jet at a location where the air jet has unrestrained flow pastsaid blade and into the fuel-air mixture in the passage leading from thevalve to the combustion chamber, the blade being in the recess and outof the direct path of flow and turbulence of the fuel-air mixturethrough the fuelair passage, and said blade including a knife edgeportion extending transversely of the direction of flow of the air jet,the air jet impingement with the knife edge originating an ultrasonicshear vibration, of the jet where it merges with the fuel-air mixture insaid passage.
 2. The combination described in claim 1 characterized bythe orifice through which the air jet flows leading into a partialvacuum in the fuel-air passage from a region of higher pressuresurrounding the outside of the structure from which the fuel-air passageextends, the air jet orifice and blade constituting a jet edge whistle,and the dimensions and air flow of the jet edge whistle having afrequency in and above the 15 kilohertz region.
 3. The combinationdescribed in claim 1 characterized by a connection at which thecarburetor passage is connected to the engine and joins a part of theengine through which the fuel-air mixture travels to the enginecombustion chamber, two superimposed gaskets located between thecarburetor and said part of the engine, the gaskets forming a housing ofthe ultrasonic generators, the jet opening extending through a side ofthe gaskets, and into a fuel-air passage through the gaskets, and theblade being clamped between the gaskets and in line with the orifice. 4.The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the blade havingits narrow width approximating the comparable width of the air jet, andone edge of the blade which faces the air jet being a knife edge forgenerating ultrasonic sound.
 5. The combination described in claim 1characterized by a housing that connects with the carburetor with apassage in the housing constituting a continuation of the fuel-airpassage of the carburetor downstream from the valve, detachablefastening means for connecting the housing with the carburetor and aplurality of ultrasonic generators at angularly spaced locations aroundthe passage through said housing including orifices opening through awall of the housing for admitting air from the ambient atmosphere intothe housing to form the air jets for the generators.
 6. The combinationdescribed in claim 1 characterized by the orifice leading through a wallof the passage communicating at its upstream end with the ambientatmosphere, and the orifice at its downstream end being subject to thepartial vacuum in the passage leading from the carburetor to thecombustion chamber of the engine whereby the flow of the air jet dependsupon the difference in pressure between the pressure in said fuel-airpassage and the pressure of the ambient atmosphere.